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Luncheon on the Titanic? Last menu up for auction

A lunch menu from the dining room of the Titanic, dated April 14, 1912, the day before the ship went down into the icy waters of the North Atlantic, will be put up for auction on September 30, in New York.

An article on livescience.com says the menu and several other items from the ill-fated voyage will be offered by the online auction house, Lion Heart Autographs. The menu is expected to fetch between $50,000 and $70,000.

Abraham Lincoln Salomon, who survived the sinking of the Titanic had the menu inside his pocket on April 15, the day the ship sank. He was one of 12 survivors that boarded the infamous “Money Boat”, officially Lifeboat No. 1.

The boat which was designed to carry up to 40 passengers, carried only 12 away from the sinking liner. Rumors say the five wealthy passengers onboard paid the Titanic crew members to row away early, and not wait for other survivors to board, earning the boats nickname.

Of 2,223 passengers and crew, only about 700 survived the frigid waters to be rescued.

Additionally, a ticket to a Turkish Bath’s weighing chair is included in the auction. The back of the ticket has the names of three other Money Boat passengers written on it, Miss Laura Mabel Francatelli, Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, and Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon, and is expected to bring as much as $10,000.

Also to be auctioned is a letter from Miss Francatelli to Mr. Salomon, written on Plaza Hotel, New York City, stationery and dated six months after the sinking. The letter comments on the “unjust inquiry” she received upon her return to London and is expecting to bring in about $4,000.

Many non-Titanic related items are up for auction as well, including a letter written by Albert Einstein in 1938, a royal edict written on behalf of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in December, 1494, and numerous other letters written by historical figures.

More information about the auction can be located on the Lion Heart Autographs web page.